


Time Travelling Son

by TheSovereigntyofReality



Series: Time Travelling Son [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Timelines, Gen, If You Squint - Freeform, It's a small world after all, No actual relationships - Freeform, Team Tony, Time Travel, implied future relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-08
Updated: 2019-12-08
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:34:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21717745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSovereigntyofReality/pseuds/TheSovereigntyofReality
Summary: What if Howard remembered "Howard Potts" and then realised his son was growing into the man.Just a little scene that entered my head and wouldn't leave until I put pen to paper.
Relationships: Edwin Jarvis & Howard Stark & Original Female Character(s), Howard Stark & Tony Stark, Peggy Carter & Howard Stark
Series: Time Travelling Son [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1565638
Comments: 38
Kudos: 947





	Time Travelling Son

**Author's Note:**

> **Disclaimer: If you recognise it from somewhere else, it isn't mine.**

It hit Howard one day, while he was working in his lab and he nearly broke the tool he was using in his shock.

After a moment, it sunk in and a wide grin began coming onto Howard’s face. Then the second implication hit him. Starks didn’t generally revolutionise technology and the barriers between possible and impossible unless necessity called for it. Why, then, would Tony _need_ to develop time travel?

Howard could have gone to Peg with this revelation. After going through the old archives, he found the security footage he was looking for. He quickly secured all copies and considered. But Peg had been recruiting more and more people with “useful skills” regardless of age or prior allegiance. It made Howard uneasy. If Peg knew Tony was capable of developing time travel...well, it turned Howard’s stomach to imagine it.

Phillips and anyone else he may have trusted was gone, with the exception of one person.

Jarvis rubbed his jaw as he viewed the footage. At first he’d thought it was a coincidence but the more he watched it, the more he was convinced.

‘I think you’re right. That is Tony. But why would he have needed to time travel?’

‘That’s what concerns me,’ Howard said.

Of course, then it was Jarvis who came up with the obvious solution. They’d had this other friend during the 40s – a Hazel Jones. She’d been the bastard daughter of one of the officers at the SSR HQ during the war. Then she’d found work in New York after the war. She’d eventually left their company, though, because she felt Peg was consistently going too far. It was only in the last ten to fifteen years that Howard came to agree with her.

It was like Peg thought the law shouldn’t apply to her.

But, God, she was a challenge to find. Howard knew she was doing it on purpose, however, when she was suddenly very easy to find. She, in fact, called the Mansion and organised a time to meet in a cafe in the town of Bethany in Connecticut. When they arrived, they found her sitting at a back table. Her blonde hair having turned white and wearing glasses as she read the paper while she waited for them.  
When they walked over, she set the paper aside. ‘Hey, fellas,’ she said. She waited until they sat down. ‘So, why don’t we skip the gristle and get straight down to the bone. I already ordered for us.’

Howard nodded and launched into the tale and his own theories.

At the end, Hazel sat back and folded her arms. ‘I should be surprised that your son develops time travel, but I’m not.’

‘Quite,’ Jarvis said. ‘We’re more concerned about why Tony would see the need to do so.’

‘Do you have the footage?’

‘No, but I took a screenshot.’ Howard opened his briefcase and pulled out the photo.

‘Good enough, I suppose.’ Hazel took the photo from him and looked down at it. She studied it a few moment. ‘Early fifties, I’d say.’ She looked up at them. ‘I wouldn’t worry. We’re probably long gone by the time this happens to him.’

‘How is that supposed to help?’ Howard grumbled. He paused. ‘He seemed surprised to see me.’

‘I should think so. He probably said “Howard” in repetition and out of that surprise and then realised you’d asked him a question that he had to answer if he wanted to avoid drawing too much attention to himself. I’d think “Potts” was just the first name that came to mind.’

‘Why...Potts?’ Jarvis asked.

‘I presume it’s his wife’s maiden name.’

Howard and Jarvis looked at each other and said in near unison. ‘Wife?’

Hazel looked up at them in amusement. ‘Oh, you didn’t notice?’ She handed the photo back. ‘Look at Tony’s left hand.’

Howard took the photo back and he and Jarvis leaned in to take a good look. It took a moment to see it, but the photo had been taken at a moment where Tony hand lifted his left hand to emphasise a point. It was easy to see when you were looking for it. Around his left ring finger was a simple gold band – a wedding ring.

Jarvis took a hold of the photo. ‘How did you spot that before we did?’

‘Because time travel is pretty damn drastic,’ Hazel said. ‘I don’t think any Stark would do it lightly. Might play around with the theory a little, but it’s a last resort. Tony would have to have some kind of solid sounding board before he’d do something like that. A wife is one of the first things that comes to mind. Now the interesting thing will be who she is.’

At that moment, one of the staff – a young redheaded girl about Tony’s age – walked over with their coffees.

‘Thanks, Gin,’ Hazel said, somewhat distractedly.

When the girl left, Hazel’s eyes suddenly bugged and she twisted around. ‘Get outta here!’

‘What?’ Howard asked.

Hazel turned back around, grinning like a loon. ‘That girl is Virginia _Potts_. My son just recently got her an admission to a course at Yale.’ Her grin widened even more. ‘Specifically, a business course.’

Howard stared after the girl as Jarvis protested.

‘You’re not suggesting, out of all the women in the world with “Potts” as a surname, that one in particular will end up with Tony?’

‘Well, why not?’ Hazel asked. ‘She’s heading into the right industry, she’s geographically close, and she’s got the right name. It’s a small world, Jarvis. Stranger things have happened.’

‘This is all just supposition,’ Jarvis remarked.

‘Maybe,’ Hazel said, ‘but the universe has a sense of humour.’

And Howard couldn’t shake the feeling that Hazel was right.

**Author's Note:**

> In all honesty, let's admit that Howard probably dismissed "Howard Potts" from his mind as soon as he was gone. Although, watching Tony grow into the man would have likely given Howard pause and brought him back.
> 
> I was looking, for another fic, how many new timelines were created in Endgame. One answer I found stated that Joe Russo (I think it was) had stated that there were 7 new timelines created (two of which were credited to both Tony and Steve), so that's my minimum.


End file.
